Fast bowler set to be dogged by Ravindra Jadeja saga when fourth Test starts
on Thursday as Indian board refuses to accept original verdit

James Anderson's home Test match at Old Trafford will begin on Thursday under the threat of another appearance in front of an International Cricket Council judicial commission as India step up the pressure over the findings of last week's hearing.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India has written to the ICC expressing disappointment over findings of retired Australian judge Gordon Lewis, who found Anderson not guilty of a level-three charge relating to a confrontation with Ravindra Jadeja during the first Test at Trent Bridge.

Only Dave Richardson, the chief executive of the ICC, can appeal the decision of a judicial commission and he has until Saturday to decide whether to convene a new hearing.

If that happens a three member panel will start the hearing afresh. The original case at a Southampton hotel on Friday lasted six hours and if a retrial were to be ordered witnesses would again have to give evidence. The appeal would have to take place within 30 days of the panel being organised and its decision would be be final.

“The International Cricket Council today confirmed that it has received and is considering the written decision of His Honor Gordon Lewis AM, the Judicial Commissioner, in respect of his findings that England's James Anderson and Ravindra Jadeja of India were not guilty of breaching the ICC Code of Conduct and Player Support Personnel, following an exhaustive disciplinary hearing which was held in Southampton on Friday,” the ICC said in a statement.

The latest twist in this long-running saga, which has racked up considerable legal fees for the BCCI and the England and Wales Cricket Board, came as Ian Bell, the England batsman, claimed the series has been “played in a good spirit,” although that could just be a reflection of how abusive language is now the accepted norm in modern international cricket.

It is certainly not how the BCCI view the matter. Anderson's language, which included calling MS Dhoni a “f------ fat ----”, was at the centre of India's original decision to pursue a charge. Dhoni has led the fight on this issue ignoring pleas from board officials to drop the matter.

“We have written to Dave Richardson, expressing our disappointment with the verdict,” Shivlal Yadav, the interim president of the BCCI, was quoted as saying by Wisden India. “The BCCI don't have the right to appeal the verdict, obviously. We have asked Mr Richardson to look into it and see how best justice can be done.”

Richardson is a qualified lawyer but rarely has a chief executive of the ICC had to intervene in a such a bitter dispute between two teams. This incident has also highlighted the inadequacy of the ICC's code of conduct which Lewis has urged the board to review immediately.

Even if an appeal is granted it is hard to see how the decision will change. Without CCTV footage Lewis found it impossible to decide the truth with both witnesses for both sides fundamentally biased in their evidence.